Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 621: Meeting at the Banquet (3)

Days flashed by, and soon it was December 12th. The astute matriarchs of various households instructed their daughters to keep their eyes peeled and not to dwell on vulgar tricks. Instead, they should focus their attention on the worthy sons of their own class. If they could form a good marital match, it would not be so bad. After all, being the young mistress of a noble house, the future matriarch, the future ruler of a family’s power, was far better than scraping by under the watchful eyes of others. Moreover, the Empress was no pushover. During the Emperor’s military campaigns, the Empress took over the governance and had two noble families purged without hesitation, showing her cunning nature.

Before dawn even broke, Feng Xuxu opened her eyes, twisting her head slightly to gaze at her husband lying naked beside her, still deep in slumber, and she gently stroked the rugged lines of his face with her hand.

"Hahaha, got you, you little rascal," he laughed lazily, holding tight the hand that had been wandering over his face and looking at his wife’s embarrassed face.

"Hmph, you were awake all along, pretending to sleep," she said, shifting her head slightly and leaning against his chest, her eyes slightly closed with a light, excited smile on her lips.

He reached out with one hand to caress her snow-white back, over and over again, "If I didn’t pretend to sleep, how would I know my wife could also be mischievous?"

"You’re just taking advantage of the situation to eat my tofu," she said, lifting her head and glaring at the still chuckling person.

"I’m taking the opportunity to make a move. Such chances are hard to come by," he said with a smile, pressing her head back onto his chest.

Feng Xuxu reached out to pinch the flesh at his waist, intending to twist it fully, but fearing it would hurt him, she only went halfway as a form of punishment, "I’ll let you off today. If there’s a next time, I’ll twist you really hard."

"Hehehe, I’d rather you twist me every day, if it means I get to eat tofu every day," he teased.

"So annoying," she said, her face blushing, hurriedly moving backwards, but she was unable to withstand his amorous advances.

"My wife, I want you."

"No, you need to go to the court soon."

"It’s still early," he murmured.

The gauze curtains concealed the intimacy of the room.

As day broke, the palace gates were opened by the on-duty guards. In no time, a line of carriages stopped outside, and soon after, the arriving young ladies alighted gracefully with the assistance of their maids, while some of the young masters came in twos or threes, handing their invitations to the guards. After thorough verification, they were led into the palace by a special attendant.

Breaking from the usual practice of holding banquets in the afternoon with food, dance, and tiresome chatter, Feng Xuxu grew restless with this and thus changed the time to the morning. The gathering would feature dining and enjoyment of the entertainment and could continue into the afternoon if desired, or guests could leave the palace if they preferred. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

By the beginning of the hour of Si (9 AM), a group of guests had already entered the Warm Pavilion. By a quarter past Si, almost all the invited guests had arrived. As they entered, they hadn’t even had time to relax when they saw a crowd gathered ahead, with sounds of admiration, surprise, and ’tsk tsk tsk’ emanating from them.

"Empress, almost everyone has arrived," Lan Lengyun said as she bowed in greeting.

Feng Xuxu frowned slightly and stiffly stood up, her legs still somewhat weak as she inwardly cursed some people vehemently.

"Is the palanquin ready?"

"It has been prepared." Lan Lengyun stepped forward to assist Feng Xuxu, and they left the sleeping chamber together.

Sitting in the palanquin, she closed her eyes slightly to rest.

Noticing her condition, Lan Lengyun quietly instructed the palanquin carriers to walk slowly and steadily. They nodded, and what was usually a fifteen-minute journey took almost half an hour to complete.